Dominique Vitalis remains committed to Georgetown

Even as she recovered from the initial shock of coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s departure, Gill St. Bernard’s senior Dominique Vitalis reaffirmed her commitment to the Georgetown University women’s basketball team when reached Monday night by phone.

Williams-Flournoy, who turned a obscure program into a fixture in the national rankings during eight seasons at the helm, resigned to accept the head coaching position at Auburn University.

“I was shocked when she told me,” Vitalis said. “She was definitely a big part of my decision to go there. But Georgetown, as a whole, still sells me. Education-wise, it’s the school for me.”

The 6-foot-3 forward used her combination of strength and quickness to average 15.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior in leading Gill St. Bernard’s to the Somerset County Tournament title and the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions final. She committed to Georgetown in January 2010 and signed a national letter of intent last November.

“From the first time I met her, she seemed like a cool person,” Vitalis said. “She was kind of like a motherly figure. You could tell she actually cared. I definitely had a good relationship with her. She told me she was doing it for her family.”

Vitalis, a two-time Courier News First-Team All-Area selection, listed academics, the beauty of the campus and her relationships with the Hoyas’ players as the main reasons she is honoring her commitment.

“I’m talking to a couple teammates now and trying to get a couple of answers,” she said.

About Ryan Dunleavy

Ryan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.

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The inside story on Greater Middlesex, Union County and Skyland Conference high school girls basketball.

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Simeon PincusA graduate of Kean University, Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, including softball at the Courier News since 1999 and girls soccer since 2001. He began covering CN girls basketball in 2013E-mail Simeon